Tag Archives: rail

State owned freight group Transnet projects that it is going to generate in excess of 5 000 jobs over the next five years. At this time, the company employs 55 519 people, and forecasts the fact that the number will expand to 61 520 by 2016.

Transnet says this predicted increase could very well be directly credited to government’s New Growth Path. Between April and May, the organization made almost 800 appointments within the Operating Divisions.

This was disclosed when a high-level Transnet delegation, headed by its chief executive Brian Molefe, made a presentation to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Enterprise.

Molefe stated that they planned to create a total in excess of 200 000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2016. He explained their projects, which are conservative, have been based on a highly technical model developed by a team at the University of Stellenbosch.

Transnet CEO Brian Molefe

Technical and functional knowledge and skills accounted for 76 percent of all the training at Transnet’s six technical schools, he explained.

At their port terminals school, Molefe mentioned that they intended to teach 4 205 learners over the next five years, while 2 637 other individuals are going to be properly trained at ports. At their rail schools, he was quoted saying that they intended to teach approximately 7 000 students by 2016 in addition to training over 7 500 when it comes to rail engineering.

Molefe mentioned they required R424 million, which would be dispersed per Operation Division to be able to upgrade and improve their training facilities coupled with increasing trainee uptake. In that respect, Ports Terminals would require R50 million, Ports R38 million and rail engineering R139 million.

Molefe added they are currently taking 500 apprentices a year and expected to increase that to 1 000 the coming year. In step with government policy of employment equity, he said that as of May, 76.4 percent of their employees were black and of that figure, 20.7 percent were women.

Molefe suggested that the organisation found it necessary to employ more people with disabilities, which currently stands at 0.8 percent to 1.3 percent. The committee praised the presentation, adding that they had the confidence the organization was in the right hands.

Transnet was also congratulated for a healthy balance sheet after posting a rise in profits of 9.4 percent to R15.8 billion in its financial year ending March 31.